Drive hard. Die last. Over four years the demolition derby themed racing game Wreckfest was in Early Access. Now Bugbear, the creators of FlatOut, launched the full version of Wreckfest, previously called Next Car Game. What was supposed to be a little project in the spirit of FlatOut, quickly became a whole different kind of racing game, focusing on detailed damage modeling.

Story

As with most racing games, there isn’t much of a story to find here. You can however build a career, where you compete in championships. You start by facing the regional juniors. Next up are the national amateurs, followed by the challengers. Then you go to the pro internationals and lastly you race against the world masters. Each career championship has a certain amount of points you have to reach in order to complete it. Points can be earned in different sort of races or demolition derbies. Along the way you’ll be able to gain experience, level up and unlock upgrades and cars, allowing you to enter in new challenges.

Graphics

Wreckfest has amazing graphics, making the game even more enjoyable. The details definitely contribute to what makes Wreckfest great. Maybe try enjoying the surroundings while crashing your opponents. The landscapes are certainly worth a look. The game heavily focuses on soft-body damage modelling, making sure the cars get damaged accordingly in a realistic way.

Sound

Of course you hear your and your opponents’ cars racing, crashing and so on. This sound is done accordingly, but nothing too special. In-game music is available as well, but for players who prefer to enjoy only the sweet sounds of the cars, it can be turned off. The in-game music is our typical racing game music, boosting your energy during your gameplay. All sounds can be regulated in the settings menu, giving the player the entire control regarding sound.

Gameplay

Wreckfest is a demolition derby themed racing game. You can play either by using your arrow keys or by using your gamepad. The second one might come in handier, as of course is the case with most racing games. Other than that you don’t need to learn a lot of control, it will just say so on the screen how to go back, how to select, and so on.

Wreckfest has a variety of gameplays. You can race against opponents, either AI’s in offline mode or other players in multiplayer mode. Difficulty of AI’s can be changed according to your wishes. You can also enter in demolition derbies. Finish first or be the last one standing! Whichever you choose to play, the focus will always lie on destruction and crashing your opponents. This could get old quickly for some players, as it’s always the same routine. The different tracks add some diversity though. As said before, you can opt to build a career, allowing you to level up, unlock new cars, etc. Besides this mode, you can customize your own single player event, deciding the track, car, difficulty, type, etc. A third option is to join or host a multiplayer event with your friends or fellow Wreckfest enthusiasts across the world.

Drive with different sorts of cars, a lawn mower or a bus! You can also access your garage. Along the way you can customize your vehicles as you like, for example by going to the paint shop, upgrading your engine, air filter, etc. Or tune your car by adjusting your suspension, gear ratio, etc. You can also purchase new cars. Upgrading your cars will not only make them look cooler, it will also help them protect against damage. Be mindful though, more body armor means more weight, which will have an impact on your handling.

As with other racing games, the screen will show you how fast you’re going, your position and how far along in the race you are. What is great about Wreckfest is that it also shows you the damage your car has endured. It even shows you specifically where your car is damaged. You can also see a bar above your opponents showing how damaged they are.

If you want to add some extra fun, you can always try some of the mods. In the Steam Workshops you’ll find plenty of them, ranging from a mod that add monster trucks to a mod that introduces classic maps from famous destruction-themed games.

With Wreckfest being in Early Access for four years, lots of players already achieved a lot in the game. However, with the full game being released all previous saves were wiped from the servers.

Conclusion

After getting a lot of negative reactions during the long Early Access time, Bugbear has surprised many. Wreckfest is a very enjoyable game including different gameplay options. The focus on the soft-body damage modeling adds great value and the overall graphics are highly enjoyable. For you PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players there is some good news as well. Wreckfest is scheduled to release these versions in November 2018.

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[…] This just in, bone-breaking news, Bugbear is proud to introduce Zero Hero, one of the characters in Wreckfest. Wreckfest is the upcoming car wrecking race game of Bugbear. Who you might also know from games such as FlatOut 1, 2 and Ultimate Carnage. The game takes things just one step further and focusses on realistic carnage for both car and the driver when he gets thrown out of his car after a major crash. Wreckfest will become available on August 27th, 2019 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is already available on PC and everyone who owns the PC version will also receive goodies to celebrate the console launch including new cars and racetracks, new career options, new paint jobs, and various other things. If you want to preorder the console version you get to choose from two versions, standard and deluxe. Both of these will include the bonus Bandit Ripper V8 racer but the deluxe edition will include the season pass that grants access to more cars and customizations. You can find our review right here. […]